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Virginia the top No. 3 seed in NCAA Committee’s bracket projection

The Hoos are in a good spot with a month left before Selection Sunday.

By Caroline Darney
NCAA Men’s Final Four - National Championship - Texas Tech v Virginia Photo by Jamie Schwaberow/NCAA Photos via Getty Images

In just under a month — 27 days to be exact — we will find out the bracket for the 2021 NCAA tournament. After not having a tournament in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the idea of hearing Virginia’s name called is a welcome thought. The Hoos are technically still the reigning national champions, and they’ll have a chance to make it three years straight as they’re expected to make the field this year.

This past Saturday, February 13, the committee announced the top 16 seeds if the tournament started today. Unsurprisingly, Gonzaga was the No. 1 overall seed, with Baylor, Michigan, and Ohio State all joining the Zags on the 1-seed line. Virginia came in at the No. 9 overall team, making them the top 3-seed.

As a reminder, the entire NCAA tournament will take place in Indianapolis this year, meaning the regions are broken up by number instead of locations. Virginia was the 3-seed in a bracket with No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Villanova, and No. 4 Texas Tech.

Here are the top 16 seeds as they were announced:

There are obviously a lot of changes that will happen over the final four weeks of the season, but this is a good gauge as to how the committee sees Virginia at this point. The Cavaliers have no great wins — although they have a chance to get one tonight in Tallahassee — and a not great loss in San Francisco. They only have three losses, however, with two coming away from JPJ to top-20 teams. Although the ACC is probably better overall than last year, it is missing the heavy hitters at the top as Duke and North Carolina have struggled immensely. This, combined with the constant postponement and rescheduling of games, limits the chances that teams have to bolster their resumes.

Here is where the Hoos stand in some of the major brackets floating around:

ESPN (Joe Lunardi)

(Updated Feb. 12)

ESPN

CBS Sports (Jerry Palm)

(Updated Feb. 15)

CBS Sports

SB Nation (Chris Dobbertean)

(Updated Feb. 12)

SB Nation

As you can see, Virginia is a popular pick as a 3-seed and are currently favored to end up in Ohio State’s region. Honestly, if Virginia ends up with a top-seed other than Gonzaga or Baylor, you should be pretty happy with that draw.

Keep an eye out here for our very own Streaking the Lawn Bracket, dropping soon!

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